Trials of Mana, also known by its Japanese title is a 1995 action role-playing game developed and published by Square for the Super Famicom. It is the sequel to the 1993 game Secret of Mana, and is the third installment in the Mana series. Set in a high fantasy world, the game follows three heroes as they attempt to claim the legendary Mana Sword and prevent the Benevodons from being unleashed and destroying the world. It features three main plotlines and six different possible main characters, each with their own storylines, and allows two players to play simultaneously. Trials of Mana builds on the gameplay of its predecessor with multiple enhancements, including the use of a time progression system with transitions from day to night and weekday to weekday in game time, and a wide range of character classes to choose from, which provides each character with an exclusive set of skills and status progression.
The game was designed by series creator Koichi Ishii, directed by veteran Square designer Hiromichi Tanaka, and produced by Tetsuhisa Tsuruzono. Artwork was produced by manga and anime artist Nobuteru Yūki, while the music was composed by Secret of Mana composer Hiroki Kikuta. Although the game was only released in Japan at the time, English-speaking players had been able to play Trials of Mana due to an unofficial English fan translation released in 1999.
Trials of Mana received critical acclaim from reviewers, who praised the graphics as among the best ever made for the Super Famicom and the gameplay as an improved version of its predecessor's. The plot received mixed reviews by critics, who found the overlapping stories to be interesting and to enhance replayability, but the characters and plotlines themselves to be flat and clichéd. Overall, the game is considered by some critics to be a Super Famicom classic.
In June 2017, the game was included in the Seiken Densetsu Collection release for the Nintendo Switch in Japan; the collection was released in June 2019 in North America and the PAL region as Collection of Mana with Seiken Densetsu 3 titled Trials of Mana. A 3D remake of the same name was announced alongside it, and released worldwide in April 2020 for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4. The remake was released for Xbox Series X/S in 2024.
Gameplay
Trials of Mana has similar gameplay to its predecessor, Secret of Mana. Like many other role-playing games of the 16-bit era, the game displays a top-down perspective, in which the three player characters navigate the terrain and fight off hostile creatures. Control may be passed between each of the characters at any time; the companions not currently selected are controlled by artificial intelligence. The game may be played simultaneously by two players, as opposed to the three of Secret of Mana. There are six possible player characters. At the beginning of the game, the player chooses which three of them will be playable and which one they will start with; the other two playable characters will join the party when met. The remaining three characters act as non-playable characters (NPCs) when encountered.
Each character can use one type of weapon, in addition to magical spells. The effectiveness of spells depends on the magical ability of the character and the element of the spell in relation to the enemy. When in battle mode, attacking monsters fills a gauge that allows the player to use character-specific special attacks. Upon collecting enough experience points in battle, each character can increase in level to gain improved character statistics such as strength and evasion. Options such as changing equipment, casting spells, or checking status are performed by cycling through the game's Ring Commands—a circular menu which hovers over the controlled party member. The game is paused whenever the Ring Command menu is activated. Within the Ring, the player has nine slots for storing items; additional items can be placed into item storage, which is inaccessible in combat.
Character level progression is coordinated by the player, as a choice is given as to which statistic to raise by a point at every level up. A "class" system is also present. Once a character reaches level 18, the player can visit one of several Mana Stones located throughout the game and choose to upgrade them to one of two classes for each character—either a class aligned to "Light" or a class aligned to "Dark"—which provides a different set of skills and different improvements to character statistics. A second class change may be optionally performed at level 38, again split between a light and a dark choice, if the player has obtained a required rare item for the target class. The class changes do not affect the plot of the game, only gameplay.
Trials of Mana also employs a calendar function into its gameplay. A week cycles much more quickly than an actual one, with a day passing in a matter of minutes. Each day of the week is represented by a different elemental spirit. On that spirit's day, magic of that element will be slightly stronger. An in-game day is also divided into day and night. Certain events only happen during certain times of day, such as a nighttime-only black market selling particularly rare items. Enemies encountered in the field also change during certain time periods, and some may be sleeping if the characters approach them at night. In addition, the character Kevin transforms into a werewolf when he fights at night, greatly increasing his attack power. Using an inn's services allows the player to "skip" the game's clock to that day's evening, or the following morning.
Story
Setting The story takes place in a fictional world where Mana represents an ethereal, but finite, energy source. Some time in the past, the Mana Goddess created the game's world by forging the powerful Sword of Mana and defeating eight monsters of destruction, the Benevodons—"God Beasts" in earlier translations—with it, sealing them within eight Mana Stones, before turning herself into the Mana Tree and falling asleep. The game is set at a time when Mana starts to fade and peace has ended, as several people plot to unleash the Benevodons from the stones so as to gain ultimate power. The game is not a direct sequel to the events in Secret of Mana; according to series creator Koichi Ishii in 2006, the Mana games do not take place in exactly the same world, and characters or elements that appear in different games are best considered alternate versions of each other. Instead, the connections between each title are more abstract than story-based. Despite this statement, the 2007 game Heroes of Mana is a direct prequel to Trials of Mana, taking place 19 years before the latter's story.
Characters The characters (and their individual stories) are grouped into three main sub-plots. Duran and Angela oppose the Crimson Wizard and the Dragon Lord, Hawkeye and Riesz oppose Belladonna and the Dark Majesty, Kevin and Charlotte oppose Goremand and the Masked Mage. The main storyline is determined by the first character chosen, though there is significantly more character interaction and dialogue if the other member of the pair is also in the party. is an orphaned mercenary swordsman of Valsena, Kingdom of the Plains. His father, Loki the Golden Knight, was lost in battle with the Dragon Emperor, and his mother died of sickness soon after. One night, Duran is on guard duty at the castle of Valsena when the Crimson Wizard attacks the castle and murders several soldiers. Duran confronts him, only to be defeated easily and left for dead. After recovering, he vows to become the best swordsman in the world and to exact his revenge upon the Crimson Wizard. is the princess of the ice-covered Magic Kingdom of Altena, though she herself has little to no potential in magic unlike everyone else in the kingdom. Her mother, Queen Valda uses her magic to keep the citadel in Altena in a perpetual Spring, but the spell weakens as Mana starts to fade. To power the spell, she and her assistant the Crimson Wizard decide to invade other nations to claim their Mana Stones, though the spell to use the Stone is fatal to the caster. When the Queen tries to force Angela to use it after deeming her useless for her lack of magic, she flees from Altena and strives to become a powerful mage so that her mother would accept her again. is the half-human prince of Ferolia. His father, Gauser the Beast King, is sick of the treatment of his people by "normal" humans. His desired revenge is made possible by the appearance of Goremand, who shows the king his abilities by forcing Kevin to awaken his werewolf abilities by killing Kevin's best friend. When Kevin confronts the Beast King on this act and the King's plans to invade the human Holy City Wendel, Kevin is thrown out of the kingdom and swears revenge. He also seeks to find a way to bring Karl back to life and learn the fate of his human mother. is the half-elf granddaughter of the Priest of Light in Wendel. An orphan, she is looked after by a fellow cleric, Heath. Feeling an evil influence in nearby Jadd, the Priest of Light sends Heath to investigate, but Charlotte follows to witness Goremand abduct Heath, so she decides to go out on a journey to save him. is a member of a guild of noble thieves based in the desert Sand Fortress of Nevarl. The guild's leader, Lord Flamekhan, suddenly and uncharacteristically declares Nevarl to be a kingdom. Hawkeye decides to confront Flamekhan about it, only to discover he is being controlled by the witch Isabella. Isabella kills Eagle, Flamekhan's son and Hawkeye's friend, framing Hawkeye for his death and forcing him to flee. is the princess of the mountainous Wind Kingdom of Laurent and captain of its Amazon army. Two mysterious ninjas from Nevarl trick her younger brother Elliott into turning off Laurent's protective winds and kidnap him. With the winds gone, Nevarl attacks Laurent with a cloud of sleep powder and kills its king. Devastated, Riesz makes her escape and seeks out to find her lost brother.
Plot The story begins in a different place for each playable character. With the exception of Charlotte, the main character is soon told (or otherwise decides) to seek the advice of the Priest of Light in the Holy City Wendel. They arrive at the city of Jadd soon after the Beastmen have invaded. Due to the Beastmen's werewolf powers, they are able to make an escape by night. The main character—now including Charlotte—on the way to Wendel stays overnight in Astoria where they are woken by a bright light. Following it, it reveals itself to be a Faerie from the Sanctuary of Mana, exhausted by her journey. Out of desperation, the Faerie chooses the main character to be her host and tells them to get to Wendel. There, while they explain their grievances to the Priest of Light, the Faerie interrupts and explains that the Mana Tree is dying, and that the Sanctuary is in danger. The Priest explains that if the Tree dies, the Benevodons will reawaken and destroy the world. He goes on to explain further that, because the Faerie has chosen the main character as its host, they must travel to the Sanctuary to draw the Sword of Mana from the foot of the Mana Tree. They can then restore peace to the world, and have their wishes granted by the Mana Goddess if the sword is drawn before the Tree dies. A great deal of power is needed to open the gate to the Sanctuary. The Faerie does not have the strength to do it, and the ancient spell which would do so by unlocking the power in the Mana Stones also takes the caster's life. The Stones' guarding elemental spirits, however, will to be able to open the gate if their powers are combined.